Prelude

A short opening or standalone piece that fixes a key and unfolds from it.

Related

RomanticPreludeTonalityPiano

A prelude began as a warm-up and a way to fix the key before the next piece, and later became a work in its own right. It usually holds one texture or one mood, short but complete.

Origins and dates

In the sixteenth century lute and keyboard players used improvised preludes to test the instrument and the tuning. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier paired forty-eight preludes with fugues. In 1839 Chopin's twenty-four preludes made the short piece fit for the concert platform. Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich went on writing sets.

Listening features

Hear how a single figure lays out the piece, whether arpeggio, scale or ground bass. The key is clear at once, then moves by sequence and modulation. The pieces are short and often run straight into the next without a pause. Each of Chopin's keeps one expression; Debussy's titles point to an image.

Composers and works

Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Ligeti.

Lineage

It grows from the improvised prelude and toccata and leads to the étude, the character piece and the jazz prelude. It also opens fugues and suites.

Misconceptions

A prelude is not always an introduction; after Chopin most stand alone. Nor is it formless, since its key plan and figuration are carefully shaped.

Sources

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry "Prelude" — definitions and dating checked, not quoted
• Jim Samson, The Music of Chopin — context checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.